First Week

Whew...what a blur! It's always a bit challenging to get through this first week, especially dragging myself out of bed in the mornings, but I made it. Actually, things went pretty smoothly for me. I've had very little moving around on my class rosters, which certainly makes my life simpler, and I can tell that I have a better handle on things this year than I did last year. I've also been impressed by my students, who have been not only on time and prepared for class, but also enthusiastic. I think we'll really enjoy working together this semester. I'm teaching 3 sections of an undergraduate writing class (the level prior to the ones I taught last year), and one section of an undergraduate speaking class (our higher level).

I'm also taking beginning Mandarin Chinese with a friend (although she took the same class last fall, so she's just reviewing...). So far, that class has been fun but challenging. The instructor is really engaging, but she presents a lot of info in an hour! The class also meets four days a week, so that's a lot of input. I didn't make much time for studying outside of class last week, but that will have to change. My reasons for taking the class are pretty simple: I'd like to be able to learn how to pronounce my students' names more accurately and gain some insight about the errors they typically make in English. Plus, I think it's good to be reminded of what it's like to be learning another language.

I've been able to sleep in and relax over the weekend, so I hope to be all refreshed and ready to dive back in on Monday!